


Promises To Keep

by koalathebear



Series: Fragments Prism [4]
Category: Homeland
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2013-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-04 17:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bookend to episode 3.08 A Red Wheelbarrow.  There were a few things that prompted this - I thought about the possible conversation between Quinn and Dar Adal following Carrie's shooting.  I also wondered why Quinn never visited Carrie while she was in the hospital - was it guilt?  Was he busy?  Was there another reason?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Promises To Keep

The animated gifset above was created is by [sweetbarbarella](http://sweetbarbarella.tumblr.com/post/67348166991)

*

"What was the delay?" Dar Adal demanded angrily of Quinn.

"I stopped her didn't I?" Quinn bit out tersely as he leapt up into the back of the van. He knew there would be hell to pay but at that moment, he really didn't care.

*

"You want to tell me why there are two guards posted at the door of Carrie's hospital room and I'm not allowed in?" Quinn demanded from the doorway of the office. He had waited at the hospital while Carrie was rushed into surgery and then recovery. Once she had been wheeled to her room, however, the way had been barred to him.

The man seated at the large wooden desk did not look up. Dar Adal's eyes flickered slightly from beneath heavily lidded eyelids. He continued writing on the piece of paper before him and did not acknowledge Quinn's presence or his question.

Quinn, fully aware of Dar Adal's ways, did not betray his irritation or impatience but merely stood there and waited.

Very deliberately, the older man finished writing and put the lid back on the fountain pen and set it down on the desk before looking up with a pleasant smile on his face.

"I thought that you might make an appearance here tonight, Peter," Dar Adal remarked urbanely, his dark eyes gleaming with a faint malice. "Please - take a seat."

"I'll stand, sir," Quinn said grimly.

"Even though you appear to have forgotten the manners that I drilled into you so carefully Peter - such that you barge in here unannounced whilst still covered in blood – I have not forgotten my manners," Dar Adal said with pointed reproof in his smooth voice. "Take a seat and I will consider answering your questions."

Some battles were worth fighting and some were not. Quinn's jaw clenched and he sat down in the chair facing Dar Adal at his desk, allowing his superior to have his petty psychological victory. 

He was aware that his shirt and trousers were still covered liberally with Carrie's blood. Although his clothing was black, the blood was still apparent and had started to dry and stick to his skin.

He had imposed calm upon himself before taking the rooftop shot but the panic had leapt in as soon as he had fired and seen Carrie fall like a stone to the ground. There had been so much blood and her eyes had been wild and frantic as he had tended to her injury.

"Very good, Peter," Dar Adal complimented him as he reached out and poured a cup of tea both for himself and for his 'mentor' if Lucifer could ever really mentor someone. "You still remember how I take it," Adal said with approval and Quinn shrugged.

"There are two armed guards outside Carrie Mathison's hospital room."

"Upon my instruction."

"I'm well aware of that, sir," Quinn told him, his pale eyes cold and impassive. Adal's almost reptilian eyes regarded him with a tranquillity that had been cultivated over the decades but hid a wily and sharp mind. "I'm guessing it's to stop Carrie trying to find out where Acting Director Berenson has gone tonight."

Dar Adal's brows lifted swiftly in faint surprise. " _Your_ observation, Peter?"

"With a bit of help from Carrie. Even with an arterial bleed she's still got the clarity to figure out that something's up. Where's Saul?" he demanded abruptly. "He should have been there tonight … you two are up to something."

Dar Adal made a sound of approval and shook his head. "It's not nice to have things hidden from you, is it, Peter? Now you know how wounded I felt when you excluded me from your little Javadi mission."

Quinn said nothing, merely held the tea cup to his lips and took a sip of the tea. _Never let an opponent see that he is getting under your skin, Peter_ ," Adal had drilled into him many years earlier.

"Is it something to do with Brody?" Quinn guessed.

Surprise gleamed in Adal's eyes again. "My my, Peter. You've become positively omniscient of late. It must be the benefit of your increased dealings with the brilliant Carrie Mathison."

"It's called using your brain instead of just following orders, sir," Quinn told him with a polite smile that did not reach his eyes.

"Ah but you were always so good at following orders, Peter. Such a good soldier," Adal said reminiscently. "I'm interested in why you think it might have anything to do with Brody."

"Why else would Saul hide it from Carrie? He must know that if he told her, she would insist on being involved."

"You continue to impress me, Peter – perhaps one day you may even surpass me," he said with a taunting jibe in his voice. He then proceeded to explain exactly where Saul was, what he was doing and what he intended to do with Brody.

Quinn's face was thoughtful and calm as he listened intently, saying nothing but considering the proposed play.

"No comments?" Adal asked curiously and Quinn shook his head. There was no denying that Saul Berenson was clever but there was something very cold and inhumane about the way Cold War warriors like Saul Berenson and Dar Adal plotted and schemed with human lives.

"No, sir. Thank you for providing me with a briefing."

"Needless to say, there are many moving pieces in play … Saul will brief Carrie personally. Until then, she is to know nothing of this plan."

"Yes, sir," Quinn agreed.

Adal frowned quizzically. "You surprise me, Peter. Do you expect me to believe that you're not going to run out of this door now to tell Carrie Mathison of what you have just learned?"

"I just shot Carrie, sir. She has suffered a massive trauma, lost a great deal of blood and is in recovery following emergency surgery. She needs to rest and recuperate. If I share this information with her, she'll be on the first flight to Caracas before we know it and kill herself in the process."

"I see. Some might be offended that it is your concern for Carrie rather than your deference for me that compels you to comply with my instructions."

"I mean no offence, sir," Quinn told him coolly.

"I wish I might believe that, Peter," Dar Adal said gently, regret colouring his cultured tones. He poured more tea into his cup and Quinn's. "Can I also rely upon you not to attempt to visit Carrie Mathison while she is in the hospital?"

"Yes," Quinn told him steadily. 

Adal stared at him, curiosity in his eyes. "Strangely – I believe you but I confess to being puzzled about why you would accede to my request."

Quinn shrugged. "If I visit her, she will ask me what I know and I am not going to lie to her. She needs to recover from the gunshot wound."

"Very interesting," Dar Adal murmured, setting his tea cup down and regarding Quinn from under lowered brows. "You know Peter, this juvenile infatuation does not become you at all. Carrie Mathison really is not your type."

"It's not like that, sir," Quinn told him curtly.

"I'd never have imagined you to become so enamoured of a borderline lunatic who is irrationally infatuated with the terrorist who had her shut up in a mental hospital." Adal's words were deliberate and cruel. 

Quinn's face remained expressionless. He would not allow Adal to provoke him. "Carrie Mathison is a respected and trusted colleague." _The words of your enemies do not matter, Peter. Let them wash over you like a wave. Spite and venom is the recourse of the weak._

"I always did wonder why Brody was not eliminated as originally planned. Poor Estes met his untimely death before he could give me a debriefing about the matter." Dar Adal took another swallow of the tea.

"Peter, Peter, Peter – is this some sort of crisis of conscience? An early midlife crisis perhaps? The demented Miss Mathison is completely besotted with Nicholas Brody – there's really no room in her heart let alone her head for you," he said with a pitying smile.

"Sir, as mentioned – you misunderstand the situation. Carrie is a respected colleague and we are committed to the objectives of the Agency." He rose to his feet. "Do you have any ongoing instructions for me?"

"Lead the team surveilling Franklin and report back to me promptly with any developments."

"Yes, sir."

"And Peter?"

"Yes?"

"No more of these little side missions, all right?" Quinn nodded and left the room. 

There was no doubt that he wanted to return to the hospital to check on Carrie but he forced himself to go home and change out of his clothes before joining the surveillance team. 

His head was still full of the information he had learned when he read Carrie's medical file, worried about the damage he had done. She was pregnant. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Carrie had asked him for his help and he had promised to give it to her. He intended to fulfil that promise – whether she liked it or not.

****

end


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